HTPC help

Inquitus

I have a Vista Ultimate desktop PC in the corner of my lounge, which has Media centre bundled in with it.

I have a HDTV on the far side of my lounge.

Aside from a hard wired connection all the way across the lounge, is there any way to wirelessly connect the 2 and maintain all the functionality of MCE?

Inqui

8T8

In a fashion through a media centre extender. The only extender on the market at the moment is the Xbox 360 though there are supposed to be newer ones that dont double as a games console on the way.

An Xbox 360 with a WiFi link would allow you to do everything the stock Media Centre can over the network link.

However go outside the bounds of the stock features and things are a little more complicated video support can be worked around with a transcoder but it is not ideal and many plugins do not function 100% correctly either through the extender.

I think it would easier and more practical to run cables what's the distance between the two ?

SouperComputer

personally id avoid Wifi. Its effective throughput only scrapes by with a good connection for DVR-MS streams, not to mention that the traffic is contented with other nodes on the wireless network. If you MUST use WiFi, then use a MiMo router and a MiMo bridge connected to the ethernet port of the XB360

You could network the HTPC and XB360 with a unit that allows you to network using your existing power sockets. Ethernet over power rather than power over ethernet.

Inquitus

OK the distance is about 5 meters directly across my lounge, I have 2 small children so if I was to run a wire I would have to run it round the edge of the room under the edging for the wooden floors. This would be very hard to do with existing co-axial cables and DVI cables.

Is anyone aware of any special versions of these that maintain signal quality while being less bulky? I was thinking in the vein of the flat speaker wire you can buy.

Tnx Inqui

8T8

Well does your TV have a HDMI input as HDMI cables are very thin, you could use a DVI to HDMI cable (but that would mean running audio cables) or get a graphics card with a HDMI (carrying video + audio) output and just use the single HDMI cable or this one.

* Note that in order to carry video + audio over the HDMI output you need a sound card with a digital SPDIF output which you plug the output from into an input on the graphics card - you can see the cables on the left hand side in this page.

As for the the options a flat VGA cable not seen one myself & you would need ot run an audio cable as well though those are fairly thin to begin with.

Krusty_Clown

Could you move the PC or the TV?

Inquitus

Krusty_Clown wrote:

Could you move the PC or the TV?

rofl

SouperComputer

If moving the TV or PC is not an option. Again, have a look for a device that turns your power socket into an ethernet plug.

Inquitus

Reached the conclusion that the only viable thing to do is build a new HTPC (having sold my old one a year or two ago)

Saw a lovely case with a touch screen TFT reviewed in this months PC Format or Custom PC.....bought both can't remember which it was in.

I am a bit out of touch in the Computer Components stakes, my current Desktop runs an Overclocked X4800+ which while still a very powerful CPU is beginning to show the test of time, not in running games or apps, but in benchmark comparisons.

The case I mentioned above takes a full ATX Mobo and room for a full size Graphics card to slot into a PCI-Express slot.

Obviously quietness is of the essence, which CPU, GPU, etc provide the least heat output at the moment to allow me the quietest build possible, while still being capable of a high level of performance and running Vista, Games etc without issues.

From what I have gathered recently the Intel dual cores give the best performance and least heat output? What GPU should I be looking at, I would be wanting at least 6k 3Dmark 06 performance.

Tnx

Inqui

8T8

Inquitus wrote:

Reached the conclusion that the only viable thing to do is build a new HTPC (having sold my old one a year or two ago)

Saw a lovely case with a touch screen TFT reviewed in this months PC Format or Custom PC.....bought both can't remember which it was in.

I am a bit out of touch in the Computer Components stakes, my current Desktop runs an Overclocked X4800+ which while still a very powerful CPU is beginning to show the test of time, not in running games or apps, but in benchmark comparisons.

The case I mentioned above takes a full ATX Mobo and room for a full size Graphics card to slot into a PCI-Express slot.

Obviously quietness is of the essence, which CPU, GPU, etc provide the least heat output at the moment to allow me the quietest build possible, while still being capable of a high level of performance and running Vista, Games etc without issues.

From what I have gathered recently the Intel dual cores give the best performance and least heat output? What GPU should I be looking at, I would be wanting at least 6k 3Dmark 06 performance.

Tnx

Inqui

If your display a 720P HDTV or 1080p HDTV ?

Given the resolution of 720p HDTV's is usually 1366x768 there would not be much point in changing the CPU although a faster CPU does help at lower resolutions I still think it would not be worth the investment given you have an X2 4800+ already.

That and many benchmark application's are meaningless as they use synthetic tests not real world tests.

Silence of course complicates matter with GPU's though you can get good ones assuming you have a PCI-Express capable motherboard this X1950 Pro GPU should be sufficient for games with a 720p display. It is also passively cooled so no extra noise from it is generated.

If you want a fan version then consider this X1950 Pro as it comes with a Zalman cooler pre-fitted which is quieter in operation.

Really need more info on what setup you have ?
Do you plan to change the case ?
Is your current motherboard ATX & plan to keep it ?
Will the machine be under or very near to the TV ?

Inquitus

I will be keeping the desktop as is, and building a HTPC from the ground up

The 4800+, 7800GTX etc will stay in the desktop.

I want a silent powerful HTPC which can handle games, HD encoding etc made of best bang for buck components.

8T8

What size TV you got and what res ?

Inquitus

42" 720p 1080i

8T8

Well given all that info what you want to build wont come cheap if you want high performance and low noise.

If going for the HTPC look you will need a big case supporting full ATX in you plan on making use of GPU with double slot cooling requirements.

Take this Silverstone LC14 as an example.

Motherboard as your going for Core 2 you can go for the P965 or 975X the 975X has dual x8 slots so if GPU processing power is not enough you could add a second for ATI's Crossfire mode.

(Crossfire is supported on the P965 as well though only for Direct3D not OpenGL unlike the 975X which works with both API's)

This MSI board fits the bill, dual x8 PCI-e slots full Core 2 support and Intel's ViiV feature for HTPC's.

Graphics card options with noise being a factor, fan less units really limit your range of options so this is as good as it gets.

X1950 Pro
Very good price/performance high end card better image quality options and can be used in dual GPU configuration though with two of these it would be a good idea to have the intake fan on the LC14 hooked up so some air is being pulled over their coolers.

7950GT
Decent high end card but SLI support is only available on NVIDIA motherboards, faster than the X1950 Pro but offers poorer image quality.

X1650XT
Very good mid-range card but not really suitable for high resolutions however the lower power and heat output would certainly mean you would have no problems pairing two together for dual GPU action increasing rendering performance.

Then a quiet PSU like this or this.

For CPU cooling case size permitting
Scythe Infinity
Zalman 9500
Tuniq Tower 120

Good idea to replace stock fans in case as well with more quiet versions like Akasa amber series or Zalman branded fans.

Those are my core recommendations.

If you want to get noise output even lower than 22-25dba which should be tolerable then check out Quiet PC but you could spend a small fortune their.

MacXP_Irl

this xmas I'm hopefully replacing my aging 28" trinitron with a 42" 1080p 100Hz LCD and I'm going to use one of the new speedbumped mac minis as a vista MCE. If its just a media centre it doesnt need to be incredibly powerful and the mini is near silent. Attach an xbox hddvd drive and it will look the biz next to my Wii hehe

mathias

I have the most basic mac mini and tried to use it as a htpc , it choked the first time I tried 1080p content on it , it simply will not play all the way through without stuttering. ( its only the 300 trailer )
I dont think they have the power in the graphics department. It will show up a nice media centre screen , just useless for video is all !! All it has is an intel 950 onboard graphics chip with a paltry 64mb.

Or am I doing something wrong , Im not an expert on Macs by any stretch of the imagination ?

MacXP_Irl

the new ones have 2GHz core2Duos and should do the trick, I'll have to try before I buy. There are reports of success over at thegreenbutton.com